A NEW exhibition that reveals the daily eating habits of Romans is coming to Cirencester's Corinium Museum this summer.

Dr Zena Kamash from the University of London has curated a new exhibition called Food for Thought. The exhibition at the Corinium Museum, Cirencester and in partnership with the British Museum looks at the cultural importance of food, what it can tell us about the lives and attitudes of ancient Romans and the links with modern day living.

It will bring together unique objects, some rarely on display to the public, from Cirencester and also across the Roman Empire including Pompeii, Rome, Athens and Tunisia.

Objects on loan from the British Museum have made it possible to bring collections from the Roman Empire to a small museum in the rural Cotswolds.

Food for Thought runs until 5 July 2015 and includes a programme of talks and activities by Roman food specialists from Oxford, Reading and Exeter universities.

A weekend food festival on 30-31 May will give visitors the chance to sample Roman food and taste a Roman-inspired local ale that will be launched that weekend.

As part of the exhibition Dr Kamash is asking people to share their earliest food memories, from buying sweets at the corner shop to eating chocolate birthday cake to understand how food forms part of our identity. The food memories collected so far will be displayed on memory trees at the exhibition.

Dr Kamash said: "What we are trying to do is bring current research into the public eye in order to break down some of the stereotypes that exist about Roman food. We hope this exhibition will not only encourage visitors to think about what role food plays in their own lives, but also about how we interpret eating and drinking in the past."